Vaccination For Heartworm Necessary?

[Houndess]

We live near Vancouver, BC. Heartworm is non-existent here.

However, we are travelling with our almost 13-year-old greyhound to Yosemite in September.

We are taking the I5 through Washington and Oregon. When we hit California we may head to the coast to travel down highway 101 to San Francisco and then head to Yosemite. Anyone have an opinion as to whether we should protect Miss Music with Heartworm prevention? I have no idea and neither does our vet.

Appreciated as always guys!

Leah

[Houndess]

We live near Vancouver, BC. Heartworm is non-existent here.

However, we are travelling with our almost 13-year-old greyhound to Yosemite in September.

We are taking the I5 through Washington and Oregon. When we hit California we may head to the coast to travel down highway 101 to San Francisco and then head to Yosemite. Anyone have an opinion as to whether we should protect Miss Music with Heartworm prevention? I have no idea and neither does our vet.

Appreciated as always guys!

Leah

[Time4ANap]

We give monthly heartworm prevention year-round here in AZ. I feel that it is pretty much necessary anywhere in the US now given that it has shown up in all 50 states over the years. I'm not a vet nor do I play one on TV. Hopefully one of the vets on the site will be able to provide some insight.

 

You might want to take a look at this heartworm site and refer your vet to it as well. There are resources for pet owners as well as vet-specific resources.

[Hubcitypam]

Ivermectin based HW meds are very inexpensive. Think of it as insurance.

[Walliered]

I live in Georgia and we give heart worm meds year round.

[Hubcitypam]

We do year around HW here.

As a point of reference we honestly do not have ticks (thankfully) in Far East Dallas. Two vets have told me if you go north to Plano/Richardson that's not true. It is an anomaly. All the years I went to Abilene Ks for the GH event(s) I made sure I bought Frontline for the dogs that went. They could put a paw out at a rest stop and come back with ticks. Oklahoma is tick central. Sometimes you need to CYA where you are going.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Hubcitypam

[3greytjoys]

Heartworm preventative is definitely a requirement throughout California (including northern California, SF, and into the Yosemite park region).

Our previous dogs became infected immediately after moving to the SF bay area during winter over thirty years ago. (Thankfully they survived because it was caught/treated quickly.)

All dogs in CA need to be on heartworm preventative. (We give Heartgard chewables.)

 

Several more important tips:

 

Carry fresh tap (or bottled) water for Miss Music at all times.

 

Do not allow her swim or drink from any natural bodies of water (creeks, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, etc.) to prevent giardia, etc. or worse...

There are deadly algae growths in rivers, lakes, etc. during this time of year. Many dogs have died rapidly after taking even one fun swim or lapping up a little water with these dangerous strains of algae.

 

Keep her away from dry grasses and weeds since potentially deadly foxtails can be sniffed up through dogs' nostrils, wedged between toes, or burrow into skin.

When foxtail barbs enter a dog's skin, they continue working themselves more and more deeply into the body (even into the dog's brain) and must be surgically removed (if caught before harming the animal). Please view foxtail photos here: http://www.cpp.edu/~jcclark/dogs/foxtails.html

 

Ticks are abundant throughout your route, including coastal beach trails. (Wide fire roads are good places to hike.)

 

That said, have a great trip! The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, and water was replenished in Yosemite during our winter rainy season (after 4-5 years of drought).

 

[Hubcitypam]

 

 

Do not allow her swim or drink from any natural bodies of water (creeks, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, etc.) to prevent giardia, etc. or worse...There are deadly algae growths in rivers, lakes, etc. during this time of year. Many dogs have died rapidly after taking even one fun swim or lapping up a little water with these dangerous strains of algae.

 

I guess that depends on how many layers of bubble wrap you wish to use. The only part of the dog park Rex and Buck enjoyed was the water access into White Rock Lake. When they were going in the lake I made sure they had current Lepto.

[GeorgeofNE]

I have never in my life brought bottled water with me on a trip that involved my dog. If the tap water is good enough for the human population of a given city, it's certainly good enough for my dog.

 

I live in New England, and I do heartworm year round. Way cheaper to prevent it than treat it.

[cleptogrey]

i'm glad someone mentioned lepto. it's one of those inoculations that people try to avoid, but if your dog is going to be in wildlife areas it's a must. i frequent the woods and always make sure they have their annual lepto shot. all of the other inoculations are every 3 years.

 

if you start your heart worm preventative a month prior to the trip, and stop a month after your should be covered. it's so much easier these days- once a month chewable pill. i remember the days of daily heart worm meds! 6 months on, 6 months off and annual testing. also, i'm not sure of the brand but some are heart worm/flea meds. i personally still have success with frontline plus, you can buy it in small packages of 3 months and it can be dosed a tad earlier than the 1 month mark with out any ill effects. for heart worm i use heart guard plus, also reasonable.

 

water wise, i go with what the locals say. in some states it seems undrinkable, taste is awful and even the locals use bottled water. a gallon or two of bottled water in the car is always a safe deal, we always have a gallon of water- for me and the dogs. dh has diet coke, d-g forbid he touches water.

[Hubcitypam]

i remember the days of daily heart worm meds! 6 months on, 6 months off and annual testing.

Filarabits or something like that. Every time someone posts about their Fitbit my mind autocorrects to daily heartworm.

[palmettobug]

Yep, Filarabits!

 

For ticks, I recommend the Seresto collar.

[philospher77]

Heartworm preventative is definitely a requirement throughout California (including northern California, SF, and into the Yosemite park region).

Our previous dogs became infected immediately after moving to the SF bay area during winter over thirty years ago. (Thankfully they survived because it was caught/treated quickly.)

All dogs in CA need to be on heartworm preventative. (We give Heartgard chewables.)

 

I live down by Los Angeles, and I don't have my dogs on heartworm preventative. Because I can't recall a time I have even seen or heard a mosquito since I moved here. No mosquitos, no heartworm. It's one of the advantages of living close to a desert.

[Hubcitypam]

i remember asking Suzanne Stack a heart worm question years ago and she said it was rarer than hens teeth in AZ (which abuts SoCal).

[RedHead]

I don't do heartworm meds either (at the advice of vets). I am visiting my parents now and there is a small risk of it in this area. I never give it because the dogs are mostly indoors in AC and we aren't out exploring areas with loads of mosquitos. There is a much higher risk in areas south though.

 

If you are going to be doing a lot of outdoor activities and camping I would probably give it just to be on the safe side. You would only have to give a couple of doses...one before and one 30 days after.

[krissn333]

I noticed the title of the thread says "vaccination for heartworm"...I know many people have had good luck with the heartworm preventative vaccine, but, I've also seen quite a few greyhounds get ill from it or die from it, so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Heartgard is our monthly chewable preventative of choice.

[racindog]

Heartworm preventative is definitely a requirement throughout California (including northern California, SF, and into the Yosemite park region).

Our previous dogs became infected immediately after moving to the SF bay area during winter over thirty years ago. (Thankfully they survived because it was caught/treated quickly.)

All dogs in CA need to be on heartworm preventative. (We give Heartgard chewables.)

 

Several more important tips:

 

Carry fresh tap (or bottled) water for Miss Music at all times.

 

Do not allow her swim or drink from any natural bodies of water (creeks, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, etc.) to prevent giardia, etc. or worse...

There are deadly algae growths in rivers, lakes, etc. during this time of year. Many dogs have died rapidly after taking even one fun swim or lapping up a little water with these dangerous strains of algae.

 

Keep her away from dry grasses and weeds since potentially deadly foxtails can be sniffed up through dogs' nostrils, wedged between toes, or burrow into skin.

When foxtail barbs enter a dog's skin, they continue working themselves more and more deeply into the body (even into the dog's brain) and must be surgically removed (if caught before harming the animal). Please view foxtail photos here: http://www.cpp.edu/~jcclark/dogs/foxtails.html

 

Ticks are abundant throughout your route, including coastal beach trails. (Wide fire roads are good places to hike.)

 

That said, have a great trip! The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, and water was replenished in Yosemite during our winter rainy season (after 4-5 years of drought).

 

THIS. Everything stated is VERY important and could be life or death for your dog. At 13 I personally would NOT use any of the strong spot ons for tick control etc. nor would I 'vaccinate' for heartworm. Frankly the heartworm injection has KILLED too many dogs. The safest preventative is probably going to be an ivermectrin based pill like Heartguard. If you get a Preventic collar and a bottle of Adams Fleas spray(safe) I am sure that is all you would need. In fact probably the collar will be enough and it is safe to especially when compared to spot ons. Besides you definitely do NOT want your dog running through grasses/tick areas anyway because of the fox tail threat-which can also be fatal. Nor do you want them exposed to algae water which can kill as quickly as 15 minutes if they drink it.

Edited August 10, 2016 by racindog

[muddgirl]

There may not be mosquitos in LA or AZ but there are certainly mosquitos in Yosemite, especially this time of year.

[Guest Sportingfields]

Can't help you on the heartworm question, I'd ask one of the vets on this board.

 

I only use bottled water for my dogs on trips. Bottled water insures that I don't have to deal with pudding poop from changing water daily depending on where we were. I too just used whatever tap water was on hand, until the trip that resulted in giardia for all 4 of greyhounds. That was miserable 2 weeks in the middle of a 6 week road trip & very expensive vet visit.

 

If you don't use flea/tick treatment, Adam's flea & tick powder/spray works great for short term use.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Sportingfields

[3greytjoys]

Seems I need to post proof regarding the information in post #7 above.

 

Many news reports and medical articles are published every year regarding worldwide canine fatalities from dogs swimming in or drinking water from lakes, rivers, etc. with toxic algae blooms. Any Internet search offers many pages of these incidents.

 

Dog fatalities from toxic algae in CA:

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A86.J5Gjq6tXxXcApxYnnIlQ;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMwRncHJpZANjdGxFQUZ6dFNxNkxjdjB0Uk45T2JBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwM0BG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMyBHBxc3RyA2RvZ3MgZGVhdGggZnJvbSB0b3hpYyBhbGdhZQRwcXN0cmwDMjcEcXN0cmwDNDgEcXVlcnkDZG9ncyUyMGRlYXRoJTIwZnJvbSUyMHRveGljJTIwYWxnYWUlMjBjYWxpZm9ybmlhBHRfc3RtcAMxNDcwODcxMjE5BHVzZV9jYXNlAw--?p=dogs+death+from+toxic+algae+california&fr2=sa-gp-search&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003

 

---

 

To clarify regarding heartworm: Veterinarians recommend heartworm preventative to be administered to dogs in all 50 states.

 

Below is a heartworm incidents map as of 2015:

 

Source: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=2015+heartworm+incidence+map&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001

 

-----

 

Finally, re: my suggestion to carry fresh tap (or bottled) water for OP's Greyhound at all times.

Most counties here in CA have safe tap water that tastes fine (most, but not all locales have safe water).

The options of tap or "bottled" water were to ensure OP's dog isn't caught without water during the trip, and to emphasize the importance of ensuring the dog not drink from any other water sources like lake, rivers, etc.

 

Decades ago, one of my previous dogs was infected with an extremely severe case of giardia while swimming in Lake Tahoe. Took many months to resolve, and harmed her health long term.

 

I just read a veterinary article about a dog who died after drinking water contaminated with toxic algae spores from an old aquarium left in the owner's back yard.

 

Side note for people who keep water jugs in their car for dogs:

Please pour out water and replace with fresh water frequently; as cars heats up in sun, chemicals in plastic leach into dogs' drinking water.

Edited August 11, 2016 by 3greytjoys

[Houndess]

Huge appreciation to all that took time to help me and Miss Music. We are travelling in an RV so will be in campgrounds all the way there so we are not taking any chances with her health.

She will get Revolution, lepto and bottled water.

I am grateful to each one of you ! 🐾😊🐾

Thanks again

Leah and Miss Mews

And we will keep her out of the long grass too!

And we will keep her out of the long grass too!

[PatricksMom]

If she gets fussy about the portable water ball, try a plastic cup--mine have all preferred those for some reason.

[Burpdog]

Yes to heartworm preventative and NO to the six month shot.

 

Revolution has the highest heartworm preventative adverse reaction rate of any except for the shot. Since she is older, I would go with something that has the potential for less side effects. I would give her bottled water.

[Houndess]

As I understand it, the Revolution pill our vet recommended is to be given once a month. Costs almost $40 per dose. She should get the first Dose August 26. We are in the US September 6 - 25. Second pill is taken September 25.

This type of Revolution covers Heartworm, fleas and ticks.

Fleas and ticks aren't an issue here in Vancouver.

As I understand it, the Revolution pill is given once a month. Costs almost $40 per dose. She should get it the first August 26. We are in the US September 6 - 25 Second pill is taken September 26

This type of Revolution covers Heartworm, fleas and ticks.

Fleas and ticks aren't an issue here in Vancouver.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Houndess

[tbhounds]

Revolution is a topical treatment. You apply the product between the shoulder blades and allow it to dry-don't rub it in. It dries pretty quickly. Do not bath prior or right after applying.

If fleas and ticks are not a concern why not just pick up a few heartgard plus doses?

Edited August 12, 2016 by tbhounds